Sergei Mitrokhin’s blog at the Ekho Moskvi web-site, 25.02.2014

The idea of European integration, which must be fully supported, has been the main driving force of the February revolution in Ukraine.

For millions of Ukrainian citizens rapprochement with the European Union means a guarantee of observance by the state of the key democratic values and human rights that have not turned into basic values for the post-Soviet period of the country.

It is therefore alarming that one of the first initiatives of the deputies of [the Ukrainian Parliament] Verkhovna Rada has been on abolishing of the “Law on the Language Policy” from 2012, according to which the Russian language had the status of a regional language where it was native to at least 10 per cent of the population (in 13 out of 27 regions of Ukraine). But Verkhovna Rada has not stopped there: now, a new draft law on national languages stipulating that the Ukrainian language will be the only state language is being developed.

These solutions sharply contradict the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, signed by Ukraine in 2006.

Cancelling the regional status of the Russian language fundamentally contradicts to the norms and practices of the European countries where not only large, but even small groups [have the right to] speak different languages. The EU institutions officially use 24 languages, and EU citizens have the right to appeal to the authorities and get answers in any of these languages.

In Spain, there are six official languages, Spanish has the same status as the Basque and the Aranese languages. In Finland there are two state languages and three in Luxembourg. These examples refer to the practices of unitary states Ukraine belongs to. Apparently, in the federal states these rights are guaranteed by definition.

In Ukraine the opportunity to use the Russian language is vital for half of its population, and all Ukrainians can speak it. Disputes about the state language have already led to conflicts in Ukraine spilling out into the streets.

The decision on the status of the languages adopted by Verkhovna Rada splashed may not be the biggest, but quite a substantial portion of kerosene into the fire of those conflicts. Instead of working for the consolidation of the society for the speedy economic recovery of the country, Verkhovna Rada has demonstrated a desire to deepen the split in the society.

It is clear that this decision has been influenced by the nationalists, who now see themselves as the protagonists of Maidan. After all, their main goal is not European integration of Ukraine, but its “ukrainisation”.

But truly pro-European factions in Verkhovna Rada should also understand that going further along the path indicated by nationalists means further splitting the East of the country from its West, provoking clashes on ethnic grounds, and finally discrediting the idea of European integration, which has been their most important trump card today.
Restrcitions in the use of the Russian language do not bring Ukraine closer to the European Union, but move it away from it. Trampling minorities’ rights (language rights inclusive) is inadmissible in Europe.

Discrimination of the Russian language questions the very ideology of the accomplished revolution. Which kind of revolution it was: a pro-European or a nationalist one? What people were shedding their blood for?

I do hope that Verkhovna Rada will cancel this decision ensuring thereby the consistency in the implementation of the European slogans of the Ukrainian revolution.
It will be better if it does it on its own initiative, rather than under the pressure from the West. An the from the Russian political forces only the YABLOKO party has been “pressing” [on Verkhovna Rada to abolish this law].

First published at
http://echo.msk.ru/blog/sergei_mitrohin/1266014-echo/